1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of dispensing, and to the particular field of air freshener dispensers combined with other devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fragrances and scents for use in freshening the air in a room are well known in the art and the art contains many examples of such devices. These devices range from simple containers that are opened to allow evaporation to dispense the aroma, to complex devices that include fans, motors, and the like.
When a person initially enters a room, one of the first things they notice is the smell of the room. If a room is musty, or has cooking odors, or smoke odors, or the like, this is immediately noticed by a person entering the room. For this reason, many air freshener devices operate continuously so people entering a room notice the freshened smell rather than some other, less pleasing, smell. However, this can be wasteful if the room is unoccupied for a long time. Fragrance dispensed into an empty room is generally wasted.
Therefore, there is a need for a dispenser for dispensing air freshening ingredients into a room, but only when such air freshening is needed.
Since initial entry into a room is when fragrance is most noticed, the most effective time to have fragrance dispensed is when someone is most likely to be initially entering a room.
Therefore, there is a need for a dispenser for dispensing air freshening ingredients into a room, but only when such air freshening is needed and when such dispensing is most effective.
While the art has air freshener dispensers attached to doors, such device depend on the movement of the door to dispense the air freshener. Once a door is moving, the person is nearly always into the room, and the fragrance dispensed will not be as effective as it would be if the fragrance were dispensed before the person entered the room. Once a person enters a room, it does not take long for their olfactories to become used to the scent in a room and air freshener dispensed at this time will not be as effective.
The inventor is not aware of any air freshener dispenser that will overcome the just-mentioned difficulty and dispense air freshener only when needed and in the most effective manner and do so before a person enters a room.
Therefore, there is a need for an air freshener device that will dispense air freshener only when needed and in the most effective manner and do so before a person enters a room.